Kitchen utensil or the like



p 30, 1958 H. N. BULL KITCHEN UTENSIL OR THE LIKE Filed Oct. 11, 1955INVENTOR. HEN/2v Nfiuu Y B //M,

United States Patent KITCHEN UTENSIL OR THE LIKE Henry N. Roll, ForestHills, N. Y. Application October 11, 1955, Serial No. 539,839

1 Claim. c1. 30--s27 This invention relates to kitchen utensils andparticularly to an improved handle and supporting structure forkitchenutensils;

It is desirable in many cases to dispose a kitchen utensil vertically.In the case of a mixing spoon, it is common to store the spoonvertically when not in use, for 'the purpose of saving space or forconvenience of access. For example, means may be provided for hangingthe spoon by the handle. Y 9 I Advantages can also be gained bydisposing the spoon in a vertical upright position during use, i. c.with the spoon or other utensil disposed with the handle end down on thetop of a stove or other horizontal surface and the utensil end up out ofcontact with the stove or other surface. This vertical disposition ofthe utensil in such a case will prevent foodstuffs on the spoon frommessing the stove and will also save a substantial amount of space onthe top of the stove, and is therefore highly desirable because it keepsthe stove top clean and saves space on a busy stove.

However, two difficulties with disposing the utensil in the verticalupright position have been that the utensil has little stability, and ifthe foodstuffs on the spoon are liquid or semi-liquid they will tend torun down the shank and handle of the utensil and on to the stove.

Therefore, the objects of the present invention are to provide a kitchenutensil having a handle with improved means for positively maintainingthe utensil in a vertical upright position and providing such utensilwith improved structure for preventing liquids or semi-liquids fromrunning down on to the handle and stove.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are attained in thestructures described herein by providing a handle with a fiat endsurface extending at right angles to the axis of the handle and adaptedto abut against a plane surface. A permanent magnet is recessed withinthe handle and has at least one pole piece adjacent that flat end. Themagnet is effective to attract any ferromagnetic surface against whichthe flat end may be placed and to positively support the utensil in thevertical upright position. A shank projects from the other end of thehandle and has a portion thereof nearest the handle aligned with thehandle axis, and carries a tool head or instrument on its other end.

A drip cup, encircling the shank, is positioned between the handle andthe utensil. The drip cup includes a concave surface which facesupwardly when the utensil is projecting upwardly from the end of thehandle. This drip cup is effective to catch any drippings from the spoonor other instrument portion of the utensil. It may also be desirable toarrange the shank and the tool head so that the center of gravity oftheentire assembly is aligned with the flat end surface of the handle whenthe utensil is standing vertically.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent froma consideration of the following description taken together with theappended claim and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a kitchen'utensil embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-sectional view takenon the line IIII ofFig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; I

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the utensil of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a. vertical sectional view taken'on .the line 0 IV-IV of Fig.1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

cup 10.

and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, illustrating a modification. 1'

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a kitchen utens il including ahandle generally indicated at 1, 'ashank 2 and a spoon 3. It should'berecognized that any other I suitable instrument or tool head could besubstituted for the spoon 3. The handle has a flat end surface 1a at itslower endand comprises a generally conical grip portion 1b. At the upperend of the grip portion as shown at Fig. 1, there is formed integrallywith the handle a drip- The shank 2 is received in a recess providedatthe center of the drip cup 1c, being fastened to the handle 1 by bondingor any other suitable conventional means.

The handle l rnay be formed of plastic, wood or any othersuitablelmaterial; 'Within the lowerend of the handle, there. isprovided a recess 1d which'receivesa plastic insert 12, in which is'molded a magnet 4; The magnet 4 may be inserted and held in place in therecess by any other suitable means. The magnet 4 is shown as having twopole pieces which are flat and coextensive with the fiat end of thehandle. While this construction has many advantages, and is preferred,it is necessary only that one of the pole pieces be adjacent the end ofthe handle. The pole piece or pieces, may be slightly spaced from theend by a covering of plastic material or a suitable coating or it may bedesirable to have the magnet poles at the surface of the end of thehandle to direct-' ly contact thernetal surface.

When the utensil is mounted on a ferromagnetic surface such as thesurface shown at 5 in Fig. 4, the magnet 4 attracts that surface andholds the utensil in a vertical position. A portion of the shank 2 maybe angularly offset from the axis of the handle and the spoon 3 or othertool head may be balanced against that offset portion so that the centerof the gravity of the utensil may be aligned with the end surface 1a, sothat the weight of the handle produces no substantial torque tending toturn the utensil over on its side. Thus, preferably, the center ofgravity is aligned with the axis of the handle. The utensil thereforetends to remain stable in this position. However, it is positivelymaintained in the upright position by the magnetic force so that theutensil will remain upright even though it receives a substantiallateral bump. When the spoon is upright, the drip cup 10 is effective toreceive any drippings which may fall from the spoon 3.

Fig. 5 illustrates a modification, particularly with respect to the dripcup structure and with respect to the manner of fastening the shank inthe handle. In Fig. 5, a handle 6 consists of a conical grip portiononly and is provided at its upper end with a recess 6a to receive amolded plastic insert 7. The plastic insert 7 has a central portionapertured to receive the shank 2. A peripheral portion 7a of the insert7 is molded or otherwise shaped in the form of a drip cup. The bottom ofthe drip cup, near the shank 2 is provided with a projection 7b whichencircles the shank 2 so that the drippings from the spoon or otherutensil accumulating in the bottom of the drip cup do not accumulate atthe joint between the insert 7 and the shank 2 and so that cleaning ofthe utensil is facilitated.

If desired, the projection 7b may be ex- 3 tended upwardly to or beyondthe rim of the drip cup. The handle, the insert for the magnet, and thedrip cup portions of the utensil, mayibe made in one piece or sev-' eralpieces as desired in order to achieve the .desired styling .ofthe.product bymaki ng v,t-herrli? all. of one o olor or of several colorsand to 'efie'ct'heaseand economy of manufacture. i I i It shouldheunderstoodthat the structures shown are equally readily supported on'the underside of a 'hor'izontally extending magnetic structure, themagnet 4 being then effective to holdthe utensil projecting downwardlyfrom that support, as well as achieving the advantagesand objectsobtainable from disposing it in the verticalupright position. I t

While 1 have shown and described certain preferred embodiments ofmyinvention, other modifications thereof will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art, and I therefore intend my invention tobe limitedonly by the appended .claim.

,I claim: i a

A kitchen utensil comprising a'handle having the general shape of a conewith a fiat end surface ,of substantial area defining thebase .of thecone and extending at right angles to the handle axis, a shankprojecting from the other end of the handle and having, at least theportion thereof nearest the handle aligned with the handle axis,

a tool head attached to the shank, cup-shapedwall means projectingoutwardly from said handle and concentric therewith at a locality remotefrom said flat end, said wall means defining a drip cup open at'the sidefarthest from said flat end, said wall means tapering outwardly from arelatively thick portion adjacent the handle to a relatively thinperiperalportion, said handle, shank, head and cup-shaped wall meanshaving their combined center of gravity vertically above said endsurface when said end surface is abutting a flat horizontal support, sothat the utensil is stable in that position against the force ofgravity, and a permanent magnet within said handle and having at leastone pole'piece-adjacent said end surface, said magnet being efiective toattract any adjacent ferromagnetic body and effective when said flathorizontal support is of ferromagnetic'material to increase thestability of the .utensil against the force of gravity, said drip cupbeing eflective when said utensil is standing upright on said fiatsupport tocatch drippings from said tool head, and said drip cup havingan inside surface which is concave upward when said utensil is standingupright on said flat support, said inside surface having its lowestpoint substantially below the joint between the shank and the cup, sothat drippings from the tool head accumulate below said joint.

References Cited inithe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,496,888 Kalinowski June .10, 1924 1,501,020 Small July 8, 19242,385,859 Jacobson Oct. 2, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS 738,077 France Oct.11,1932

1,091,882 France Nov. 3, 1954

